Recessional
by Hoshiguma-douji
Summary: "And the words are everything and nothing..." (ChellDOS oneshot songfic based on Recessional by Vienna Teng)


**A/N: This was a songfic, but apparently, having song lyrics in a fanfic is against current rules. For that reason, I had to take them out. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

Chell and I balanced side-by-side on her companion cube just outside of Aperture, watching the fireflies dance in the twilight. A mosquito landed on her arm and proceeded to feast upon her blood, but I slapped it just in time.

She gasped and clutched her arm. "What the hell was that for?"

"Your protection from insects," I replied. "I don't know about you, but I prefer you keep your blood where it belongs inside your own body."

"Oh. Thank you, then." Her eyes were searching my face as they usually did. When I first met her, I found their shade of icy blue eerie, but as time wore on and her stubborn personality grew on me, so did her eyes.

I returned her intimidating gaze, slowly falling into a daydream.

_"You idiot," I snapped, just as I saw a familiar orange-clad female figure emerge from the elevator. "I told you to leave. I don't need you."_

_She cocked her head and pointed upward, then mimed shooting and dying._

_"War?" I guessed. "I'm rather out of the loop as it is, but I suppose it's safe to assume that humans are always trying to kill each other."_

_She rolled her eyes, then did something spectacular: she cleared her throat._

_"You have a functional voice box," I noted. "I better put that in your file. Now, you are no longer a mute lunatic, but just an average deranged woman."_

_"The Combine," she managed to say. "It's not safe for me up there."_

_It took only a few nanoseconds for me to figure out two things: that Black Mesa had obviously brought upon an apocalypse (we scientists of Aperture have been predicting when that would occur), and that Chell had to stay with me, and not silently this time._

_I made a sighing sound. "You may stay. Try not to break anything."_

A few hours later, we found ourselves in Chell's functional bedroom. The heater was malfunctioning, and we only had each other for warmth. I didn't want to admit how much I enjoyed lying beside her; after all, she did kill me.

"I love your android model," Chell said as she traced her fingers along my arm. "I do wish you were taller, though."

_Never enough for her_, I mused before saying, "You're hard to please, aren't you."

"Mmmm." She didn't lift her gaze.

I shifted my weight on the flannel sheets, pressing myself closer to Chell's warm body. A piece of satin cloth serving as a nightgown on my part was the only thing separating flesh-to-flesh contact between us.

"Chell," I said, "I need to ask you a very important question."

Our eyes met, yellow orbs fixated upon blue. "Yes?"

"I know we're lying here because we're cold," I began. "But, according to my studies on humanity, I've noticed that this sort of intimate situation sparks sexual contact between parties. I have absolutely no issue with this occurrence, but if we do proceed to engage in passionate lovemaking, I must ask: do you have romantic feelings for me?"

As her blue eyes widened, I felt a falling sensation in my stomach—my genetically engineered stomach that apparently agreed with my sentience. I wasn't sure how I wanted Chell to answer. I had gone from hating her to befriending her to banishing her to sharing a bed for her.

I could see the gears turning in her mind, which was visible through her narrowing eyes. She held the same determined expression as when she was engaged in solving a rather complex test.

_I'm the test now_, I thought.

When she opened her mouth to speak, my mind swam with thoughts of all the horrible things I've said and done to her. _She'll say no_, I thought with a nervous bite of my lip. _You've committed social suicide with the one girl you could actually be social with._

She leaned closer. I could feel her warm breath upon my lips, which tingled in response. She barely let out a small "yes" before joining our lips.

I had felt euphoria before as a result of testing, but it was nothing compared to the joys of sex. Since Chell spent most of her life, even as a child, in Aperture, I doubted she had much experience before me, so I was shocked at her skill. Perhaps sex was like testing, in a way, where subjects analyze their partners and move according to the volume of gasps and screams and power of shivers.

_We were on the surface, a place I had never been to before, waiting for the train. I couldn't feel anything but the pure adoration and horror I had toward the sleeping Chell._ If she snores any louder,_ I thought,_ she'll disturb the entire terminal.

_"Chell," I whispered, "We need to leave now."_

I sat up immediately with a gasp. _Just a dream_, I realized. I noticed the place where Chell recently resided was empty and cold.

"Chell?"

There was no response but the echoing of my voice.

I grabbed a damp bedsheet, wrapped it around myself, and went off to search for her. Part of me didn't trust her and feared she would destroy my facility, but that thought was only two percent of a concern.

The rest of me couldn't afford to lose her.

"Chell, where are you?" I called out. Without a portal gun, it would be nearly impossible to search the labyrinth of a building Aperture was. "I know last night was a lot after what we've been through, and…" My voice trailed off. I made a noise similar to a human clearing their throat. "I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry for everything."

I found her at last, fully dressed and waiting for the escape elevator, coffee in one hand and portal gun in the other.

"What the hell!" I screamed.

She turned slowly, and fear settled into my gut. Had I been human, I may have vomited, but I pushed that disgusting thought out of my mind immediately.

"I'll only be gone for a few hours," she said. "I'm going to pick up some groceries for myself." She ruffled my unkempt synthetic hair. "You're so paranoid."

I couldn't think of anything else to say. "Oh."

She kissed me gently. "I accept your apology."

_Why did I program my android with the ability to blush?_ I asked myself.


End file.
